The Río Ebro starts life at this tree-shaded spring 5km northwest of Reinosa. It’s a stunningly serene spot, with deep-turquoise water, a tiny shrine and a few ducks splashing around. From here, the Ebro meanders 930km southeast via Logroño (La Rioja) and Zaragoza (Aragón) to meet the Mediterranean in Catalonia.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
25.1 MILES
The museum’s highlight is the Neocueva, a dazzling, full-sized re-creation of the real Cueva de Altamira’s most interesting chamber, the Sala de…
25.85 MILES
With this marvellous 1888 building, the Marqués de Comillas’ summer palace, Modernista architect Joan Martorell truly managed to out-Gothic real Gothic…
Iglesia Rupestre de Santa María de Valverde
15.65 MILES
Dating back to the 10th century or earlier, Santa María de Valverde is the Ebro Valley's largest iglesia rupestre (rock-cut church). The church retains a…
22.11 MILES
Of these four World Heritage–listed caves 30km southwest of Santander, two – El Castillo and Las Monedas – are open for 45-minute guided visits (in…
25.84 MILES
Antoni Gaudí left few reminders of his genius beyond Catalonia, but of them the 1885 Capricho is easily the most flamboyant. This brick building, one of…
26.73 MILES
The 2km-long, soft-blonde Playa Oyambre, 5km west of Comillas, is a sandy dream protected by the Parque Natural Oyambre. It has frequently surfable waves,…
Monasterio de Santo Toribio de Liébana
25.25 MILES
Christian refugees, fleeing to Liébana from Muslim-occupied Spain in the 8th century, brought with them the Lígnum Crucis, purportedly the single biggest…
Iglesia de Santa María de Lebeña
24.47 MILES
The fascinating Lebeña church, 9km northeast of Potes, dates back to the 9th or 10th century. The horseshoe arches are a telltale sign of its Mozarabic…
Nearby Cantabria attractions
4.44 MILES
The remains of Julióbriga, Cantabria’s most significant Roman town, lie 4km east of Reinosa. Hourly guided visits (45 minutes, in Spanish) lead you…
4.7 MILES
The elegantly proportioned 12th-century Romanesque church in Cervatos, 6km south of Reinosa, is most celebrated for the rare explicit sexual carvings on…
3. Arqueositio Cántabro-Romano de Camesa-Rebolledo
9.09 MILES
This fascinating triple-epoch excavation site of a Roman villa buried beneath a Visigothic necropolis and a medieval graveyard sits just outside…
9.22 MILES
Signposted from Arroyo, 12km southeast of Reinosa, this tranquil monastery has a fine site overlooking the Ebro valley and a history going back to at…
13.16 MILES
The CA281 south from Puentenansa follows the Río Nansa upstream. Along the way, a 2km detour east leads to the attractive hamlet of Tudanca, dominated by…
6. Centro de Interpretación del Rupestre
15.62 MILES
This visitor centre next to the church of Santa María de Valverde has excellent interpretative displays about rock-cut churches throughout the Ebro Valley…
7. Iglesia Rupestre de Santa María de Valverde
15.65 MILES
Dating back to the 10th century or earlier, Santa María de Valverde is the Ebro Valley's largest iglesia rupestre (rock-cut church). The church retains a…
15.7 MILES
Overlooking the town and providing its picturesque backdrop is a 12th-century castillo (castle) and the graceful Romanesque Ermita de Santa Cecilia, a…